Former Rwanda security chief dies in prison: family sources

Tom Byabagamba, former Chief of the Rwandan Presidential guard (R) listens to one of his lawyers (L) before his hearing at the military court in Kigali on August 29, 2014. [AFP]Caption

Former Rwandan colonel Tom Byabagamba, once a close associate of President Paul Kagame and head of the presidential guard, has died in prison having been found guilty of inciting rebellion, relatives said on Tuesday.

Long a key figure in the security apparatus around Kagame, Byabagamba was arrested in 2014 and sentenced in 2016 to 21 years in prison for "incitement to insurrection" and activities aimed at "tarnishing the image of the country or the government".

His sentence was later reduced to 15 years on appeal.

Born in 1967, Byabagamba was accused of criticising the government to some of his fellow military officers.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of our beloved brother, Colonel Tom Byabagamba, who passed away while in prison in Rwanda," his brother David Himbara wrote on X.

Himbara, a former economic adviser to Kagame, became one of his fierce critics after going into exile in 2010.

Another relative of the Byabagamba and a source close to the family, both of whom requested anonymity, also confirmed his death to AFP.

"We were notified today (Tuesday) morning by the military. We don't know the cause of death yet," a relative told AFP.

Byabagamba had been convicted alongside his brother-in-law Frank Rusagara, a retired brigadier-general and former secretary-general of the defence ministry, who died in prison in March 2025.

According to Human Rights Watch, the trial of Rusagara and Byabagamba was "flawed" and marked by "serious allegations of torture and witness tampering".